I've taken Cozaar 50 mg daily for probably five years or so. I have a yearly blood test and no problems before. But last Friday my potassium in the CBC was 5.6, high. The high end of the range at the lab is 5.1.

My cardiologist is going to retake it in the morning and determine if I should get off the Cozaar. I want off the medication anyway.

Is this fairly common with Cozaar? I ask because I've been eating lots of foods with high potassium in them hoping to lower my blood pressure naturally.

Any feedback you could give me based on your knowledge or experience would be appreciated.

My doctor (the one who gave the CBC) said the results were normal. I only knew of this when I saw a hard copy of the lab report.

Also, the guy who drew the blood for the CBC did an awful job and caused a large hemotoma on my arm. It's possible that broke down cells and skewed the results. Any thoughts on that?